Reliable sources have informed Ethiopian Review that Ethiopia’s long time dictator Meles Zenawi is in a coma and may have died earlier today.
Meles was transported to Belgium 3 days ago and has been receiving treatment at Saint-Luc University Hospital in Brussels.
Tonight, Ethiopian National Transitional Council (ENTC) has reported that sources close to the ruling party have confirmed the dictator’s death.
Alemayehu G Mariam
Free to SpeakTo paraphrase an old expression, “There are two things that are quintessentially important in any society. The first is free speech and I can’t remember the second one.”
Free speech is the bedrock of all human freedoms. In my view, the value a society gives to freedom of expression determines whether that society is free or unfree. A society is unfree if individuals are afraid to speak their minds, to think unpopular thoughts, to criticize government, or to dispute ideas and opinions. Expressive freedoms were so paramount to the founders of the American Republic that they provided constitutional protections unrivalled in the history of mankind. In breathtakingly uncompromising, unambiguous, and sweeping words that could be found in the English language, they declared: “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…”
There are many reasons that justify sweeping protections for free speech in any society. Without freedom of speech, the person is like a corked bottle, keeping under pressure his/her ideas, views or feelings about politics, government or society. Leaders and institutions could not be criticized or held accountable where free speech and the press are criminalized. There is little room for any meaningful artistic, literary or intellectual pursuits where free expression is censored or sanctioned. In short, without free speech, “self-development is crippled, social progress grinds to a halt, and official lies become the only ‘truth.’”
I am not writing here to discuss the abstract virtues of or government infringement on free speech. Many of my readers know that I take an uncompromising view on the practice of free speech. When dictator Meles Zenawi came to speak at Columbia University’s World Leaders Forum in September 2010, I defended his right to speak despite strong disapproval and scathing criticism from friends, colleagues and others. Yes, even Zenawi, who has the dubious honor of being called the “second-leading jailer of journalists in Africa” by the Committee to Protect Journalists, has the right to engage in free speech. When the 500+ page memoir of former Ethiopian junta leader and dictator Mengistu Hailemariam was electronically scanned this past January in violation of copyright laws and posted online because Mengistu was a “mass murderer” who should not “benefit from the sale of his book”, I defended his right to write and express himself. In defending the free speech rights of these two brothers-in-dictatorship, I was practicing Noam Chomsky’s axiom that “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.” I venture to add that by not defending the rights of those we despise, we risk becoming their clones.
Free speech encompasses not only the right to speak (and not to speak) to others but also the right to hear (or not to hear) from others. It is a decision for each individual to make. I like to keep an open and critical mind; and therefore listen very attentively to those with whom I disagree strongly. It is logically impossible for me to agree or disagree (or even to disagree disagreeably) without listening to those with whom I agree or disagree. If I suspect a claim to be false, I contest the facts. If I find the truth shrouded, I undress the lies. If I disagree with an idea, I challenge it. If I agree with a point of view, I bolster it. But to do all these, I have to tolerate the right of free expression of those with whom I agree or disagree. But free speech is not only about my right to expression, but also the right of others to do the same.
The Fierce Urgency of Now for the Unfree to Speak, to Write, to Advocate… Freely
All of the foregoing discussion is intended to provide a springboard for a more specific discussion of the plight of those I characterize as “unfree” to speak or write publicly. There are legions of Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian scholars involved in the study of Ethiopian society, commentators and intellectuals who feel unfree to speak or write on matters of great public importance to Ethiopians. Many scholars in Ethiopia are silenced by official threats of employment termination, summary dismissals and even arrest and prosecution. The fear of “censorship by mudslinging and public vilification” keeps many Diaspora Ethiopian scholars silent. Many of these scholars often point to the barrage of personal attacks they face whenever they write or speak on matters that do not conform to the prevailing orthodoxy. If they say something politically incorrect, they are jumped on. If they express views that oppose one group or another at a conference, their names are dragged in the mud. If they write a historical analysis, they are vilified as apologists of a bygone era. They are intimidated and unnerved into silence by the self-appointed and self-righteous censors of democracy. As a result, many learned and experienced Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian scholars who have spent years studying Ethiopia have completely withdrawn from participation in the vital public debates of the day.
But all scholars involved in the study of Ethiopia face the fierce urgency of now. They must renounce the vows of silence they have imposed upon themselves or has been imposed upon them by the self-appointed and self-righteous censors of democracy and come forward to help the people of Ethiopia transition from dictatorship to democracy. Ethiopia today stands at the crossroads. The signs of change are plain to see. The dawn of freedom and democracy that enveloped North Africa and the Middle East is ever slowly swallowing the darkness of dictatorship and tyranny. The best days of Ethiopia’s dictators are long gone. These are the desperate days of desperate dictators who are playing out their end game by resorting to desperate measures. We see them stoking the flames of sectarianism. They are clamping down on all avenues of free expression. They are unleashing unspeakable violence to cling to power. They are finally facing the music; they are now beginning to understand the true meaning of Gandhi’s message: “There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall – think of it, always.” So in the end game, the tyrants and murderers will pull out their trump card, their long-planned final solution: “Après moi le deluge (after me the flood)!” (or in the words of the proverbial donkey, “after me, no more grass”). But they seem to forget that floods, fires and earthquakes do not discriminate; they consume and destroy everything in their path.
But these are also hopeful days for the people. They can finally see a flickering light at the end of the long dark tunnel of tyranny. They can see a beacon of light pointing in the direction of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. The tables are turning in plain view. The people are losing their fear of the tyrants; and the tyrants are showing their fear of the people. They are worried sick of what the people might do. The people are also angry and hungry. Anger leads to bitterness, hatred and violence. Hunger destroys not only the body but also the soul. A hungry man is an angry man. That is what the tyrants fear as the last chapter of the end game is being written.
The times they are a-changing. Ethiopian scholars can no longer stand on sidelines as spectators in these trying times. They cannot afford to be “summer soldiers, sunshine patriots” and fair-weathered fans of freedom, democracy and human rights, as Thomas Paine might have put it. They must be actively engaged in the struggle against tyranny now; and not prepare to struggle for power later. They must stand with the people now, and not stand by them later.
Ethiopian scholars and intellectuals must share their expertise and knowledge to overcome not only the tyranny of man but also the tyranny of hunger, disease, ignorance and poverty. Tyranny must be confronted on all fronts. It is up to the agricultural experts to make battle plans to defeat the tyranny of hunger and famine. According to the Legatum Index, “Ethiopia’s education system is poor at all levels and its population is deeply dissatisfied.” Ethiopia’s educational scholars must rise to challenge the tyranny of a hopelessly decayed educational system. “On most health outcomes, Ethiopia performs very poorly.” According to Foreign Policy, “There are more Ethiopian physicians practicing in Chicago today than in all of Ethiopia, a country of 80 million and Africa’s second-most populous country.” Shouldn’t Diaspora Ethiopian physicians gather their forces to confront the tyranny of disease that afflicts our people? Shouldn’t Ethiopian economists, engineers, scientists, lawyers, historians, artists, researchers, etc., come forward and forge alliances to confront tyranny in all its manifestations?
Writing and speaking in their fields of expertise is only the beginning. I plead with members of the Ethiopian academic and scholarly community to also become public intellectuals. The internet has become the great equalizer not only between citizens and all powerful governments but also between the intelligentsia and “ignorigentsia” (the willfully ignorant or woefully uninformed). In many ways, the internet has given free speech its ultimate expression. The learned scholars and academics and those spewing words of provocation, hatred and intolerance potentially have equal access to the hearts and minds of millions. But for all of the information and resources available on the internet, there is precious little that is relevant, enlightening and actionable. Ethiopian intellectuals need to organize themselves to bridge the information and knowledge gap and come up with fresh and creative ideas to help transition Ethiopia from dictatorship to democracy.
Nearly two decades ago, the late Prof. Edward Said of Columbia University in a series of lectures argued that the role of the intellectual in society is not merely to advance knowledge and learning but also human freedom. He made his arguments even more compellingly for exiled intellectuals. Prof. Said urged scholars to aspire to become public intellectuals connecting their scholarship to issues and policies that impact the lives of ordinary people. He argued that intellectuals must advocate and work for progressive change while remaining vigilant over those who abuse and misuse their power. Above all, the intellectual has an obligation to always speak truth to power and the duty to stand for and with the voiceless, the powerless and the defenseless:
… The intellectual in my sense of the word, is neither a pacifier nor a consensus builder, but someone whose whole being is staked on a critical sense, a sense of being unwilling to accept easy formulas, or ready-made clichés, or the smooth, ever-so-accommodating confirmations of what the powerful or conventional have to say, and what they do. Not just passively unwilling, but actively willing to say so in public. This is not always a matter of being a critic of government policy, but rather of thinking of the intellectual vocation as maintaining a state of constant alertness, of a perpetual willingness not to let half-truths or received ideas steer one along…”
….
And this role [the intellectual’s] has an edge to it, and cannot be played without a sense of being someone whose place it is publicly to raise embarrassing questions, to confront orthodoxy and dogma (rather than to produce them) to be someone who cannot easily be co-opted by governments or corporations, and whose raison d’etre is to represent all those people and issues that are routinely forgotten or swept under the rug.
In the same vein, the late Czech president, human rights advocate and playwright Vaclav Havel wrote,
The intellectual should constantly disturb, should bear witness to the misery of the world, should be provocative by being independent, should rebel against all hidden and open pressure and manipulations, should be the chief doubter of systems, of power and its incantations, should be a witness to their mendacity.”
I believe Ethiopia’s intelligentsia could play the roles described by Said and Havel, and even go beyond their prescriptions and serve as consensus-builders, bridge-builders, facilitators, promoters and pacifiers. I would like to urge them to become Ethiopia’s eyes, ears and mouths and teach and preach to the younger generation and the broader masses. They do not have to be concerned about dumbing down their messages to the people, for when speaking truth to power the people get the message loud and clear.
These are different times. A new age is dawning without the old virtues that infused public dialogue and discourse. Civility, decency and respect in the public sphere were once considered necessary. The virtue of civility made it possible to disagree without being disagreeable; decency demanded that we agree to disagree without becoming mortal enemies. But the internet offers a convenient refuge of anonymity and unaccountability to the cacophonous and intolerant hordes whose mission is to drown out these virtues. But there is one surefire solution. Follow George Bernard Shaw’s wise admonition: “Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, but the pig likes it!”
As one does not avoid going to sleep for fear of having nightmares, one must not disengage from public debate on the vital issues that affect Ethiopia today for fear of mudslinging and censorship by public vilification. Regardless, Ethiopian scholars and intellectuals must answer the urgent question of the day: Are they prepared to “bear witness to the misery” of the Ethiopian people by speaking truth to power?
Now is the time to stand up and be counted!
(to be continued in a future commentary…)
Amharic translations of recent commentaries by the author may be found at: http://www.ecadforum.com/Amharic/archives/category/al-mariam-amharic and http://ethioforum.org/?cat=24
Previous commentaries by the author are available at:
http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/ and www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/
Bye, Bye Meles?
July 15, 2012
Aiga Forum, the website closely associated with Ethiopia’s intelligence services, just posted an emotional, tear-soaked, braggadocio-filled piece that appears to be the obituary of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The article titled “Meles ad Infinitum” was penned by someone using the pseudonym “Aesop.” Aesop, incidentally, is the same author who wrote another piece a week ago calling Ethiopian Muslims mosquitoes. That article was a prelude to the government crackdown on Ethiopian Muslims this past Friday.
In a thinly-veiled farewell to the best known son of Adwa who went on to terrorize the nation of 90-million for the last twenty-one years, the author argues that Zenawi should be remembered for what he accomplished in “praxis” as as well as his one-time promise to step down peacefully.
You can read the full article at the following link.
http://aigaforum.com/articles/meles-ad-infinitum.php
Ethiopia in Danger!
Is There a Way Out Without Our Mutual Destruction?
By Obang Metho | Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia
A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out.
It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom.
It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.
(Taken from an online message circulating on the web.)
Word is out in the Ethiopian community that Meles Zenawi is seriously ill or may even be dying. It has caused many to speculate—or panic, depending on one’s position—about the future of the TPLF/EPRDF should Meles be suddenly gone from leadership, whether the reason is poor health, death or retirement—forced or voluntary—if rumors about an internal power struggle are correct.
This is a critical time for the future of Ethiopia and we in the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE) seek to speak out regarding our position; knowing that some may have a different point of view; however, as stakeholders in the future of Ethiopia, we are highly concerned about how Ethiopians can shape the future for the better. Promoting a national dialogue that takes into account the value of putting “humanity before ethnicity” and the equally important value about caring about others—our Ethiopian brothers and sisters—because “no one will be free until all are free,” will make a difference in the outcome.
Even prior to the formation of the SMNE in 2008, as the ethnic-based organization, the Anuak Justice Council (AJC), some of us came to understand the critical importance of confronting a “system” of injustice that transcended our own ethnicity, in order to encompass the similar needs of others and to gain their cooperation in a mutual struggle for freedom. So after the release of Kinijit leaders from prison in 2007, when these leaders began to struggle with internal differences, the AJC sent them an open letter, exhorting them to reconcile for the greater good of the country and offered to mediate if need be.
In order to avoid the breakup of Kinijit over these internal differences—seen at the time to be a great defeat for the people—we suggested that they, and others who might join them, might more easily overcome these differences by transforming themselves into a broad-based umbrella movement with the shared goal of eventually creating an environment conducive to genuine democracy and political competition. As we all know, Kinijit died, and with it the momentum of the shared struggle slowed to a crawl. See the link to read open letter to Kinijit leaders http://www.anuakjustice.org/downloads/070922OpenLetterToTheKinijitOrCUDPLeaders.pdf.
In 2008, we took our own advice and created the SMNE, with the mission of working for the interests of all Ethiopians, regardless of ethnicity, political viewpoint, religion or other identity distinctions. Some mistakenly viewed the SMNE as an opposition political party to compete against, but from the outset, the SMNE was a movement to transform the minds of the people, including the TPLF/EPRDF. So in 2009 when Meles began violating indigenous land rights, the SMNE sent a letter to him and to the public. See the link to read letter to Meles http://www.solidaritymovement.org/091130OpenLetterToPrimeMinisterMelesZenawi.php .
In 2009, when Birtukan Mideksa was in jail and the UDJ were fighting among selves; again, we sent an open letter to UDJ leadership. See the link to read the letter http://www.solidaritymovement.org/100428OpenLetterToUDJLeaders.php. These are only a few examples of the many issues we have raised concerning important matters involving the well-being of all Ethiopian people.
Today we, as well as the TPLF/EPRDF, are in a serious predicament and the way out may not be a well-travelled path but a different alternative that must focus on reconciling a country that otherwise will remain stuck—and miserably suffering—at the bottom of humanity for who knows for how long. We have missed countless opportunities for a better Ethiopia in the past. Reconciliation, with the restoration of justice, could have been an option at the death of Haile Selassie, but leftist ideology of the student movement prevailed, summed up with bravado in the statement, “We will start a revolution on the grave of our enemy.” Instead, the “revolution” that followed became the “Red Terror” of Mengistu and prepared the way for the embittered and oppressed to start the next revolution. Again, reconciliation and the restoration of justice could have changed the future of Ethiopia; but instead, when the TPLF came in, they still believed in the ideology of ethnic liberation and chose the same destructive path of “a Marxist-Leninist revolution.”Few really challenged the TPLF because they also endorsed this “ethnic-liberation” model and thought they would benefit.
When Meles and the TPLF came to power, they used well-calculated, “divide and conquer” strategies to undermine any attempts to unite the majority of people against them, especially because their own ethnic group, the Tigrayans, made up such a small percentage of the population. The chief contender, the Eritrean Peoples’ Liberation Front (EPLF) they disempowered by giving away Eritrea, necessary for their own survival, but making the country land-locked.
Their tactics were successful as ethnic groups, political groups, separatist armed groups and religious groups fell into TPLF/EPRDF traps—not with reluctance, but with vigorous cooperation. Their entrapment was made simple because many people did not question what was at stake. Through it all, the TPLF/EPRDF used their hold on power to shore up, as quickly as they could, all the perks, opportunities and assets the country had to offer and used them to reward themselves, their own ethnic region and favored groups; particularly family members, party loyalists and cronies. It put these favored few in a predicament of their own. Others became so outraged with this preferential treatment that Tigrayans, as a whole, became increasingly alienated from the mainstream. The mainstream, which in itself is not a unified group, but is instead made up of many different factions, all now are connected together by their anger towards the TPLF/EPRDF and their beneficiaries.
Especially following the 2005 election, anything that could bring change to the country has been attacked by the TPLF/EPRDF. This regime has eliminated all political space. There is no opposition. The TPLF/EPRDF regime now controls 99% of the parliament. The media and all access to information are tightly controlled. They have destroyed most of civil society and its institutions and now control nearly all businesses.
The TPLF/EPRDF regime is one of the most corrupt in the world as those in power steal the land, resources, opportunities and lives of the people. Everything is a pretense and contradicted by the truth on the ground. The TPLF/EPRDF pretends to give equal opportunity when everyone knows that one group, their own, dominates everything. Even the pseudo-representation of various ethnicities within the EPRDF can be seen as a ruse to use “puppets of diversity” to prop up the TPLF leadership and their families and friends. We all know this. For example, Haile Mariam Dessalegn, Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia, should be the next in line, assuring a some transition should something happen to Meles, but in Ethiopia, this is unlikely to happen because he is not a Tigra and from the wrong tribe.
As Meles fights for his life, the TPLF/EPRDF-controlled courts just sentenced 24 Ethiopian journalists and activists who were convicted on terrorism charges to sentences ranging from eight years in prison to life. This all may be a moot point right now. Even though the TPLF/EPRDF may have the money, the guns and the power, the TPLF/EPRDF may become encumbered in their own self-imposed prison as they face the tremendous pent-up anger from the majority. No one can get out of this “jail” easily. Many regimes who have led like this, for example, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria, must reckon with the serious consequences of their actions. An example is Bashir Assad of Syria who will use the well-worn path of dictators in fighting until death, at any cost to his followers or opponents, out of fear of going down like those who preceded him.
When we have a regime like this, the future looks dim—a future much closer to ending if Meles “leaves” before his “fight for regime survival” starts. Keep in mind, at the height of the famine last year, Meles had ordered 200 tanks in anticipation of fighting his own “Arab Spring.” He may never see it; however, Meles will not be easily “replaced” for he has ruled the TPLF, and subsequently, the TPLF-dominated EPRDF, as its iron-fisted leader ever since he was a rebel in the bush. He has wooed the West while tyrannizing his own people and exploiting their assets. Many are now wondering how the absence of Meles from the helm of the TPLF/EPRDF might unbalance its inner workings, even bringing it to an abrupt end, as different stakeholders vie for power and control. If Meles leaves, the status quo will be impossible; however, even in the unlikely scenario of his return, rumors emerged, prior to his decline in health, which inferred that half of the top TPLF/EPRDF leadership were ready to oust him from power while the other half feared that the party would collapse without him. Allegedly, before the meeting could conclude the following day, he was rushed to Brussels for medical treatment. He has not returned since that time.
Rumors that Meles may be seriously ill and close to death may be credible. He has not been seen since June 18, 2012 and has not shown up for two very crucial meetings where he typically plays a significant role. The first was the end-of-the-year meeting of Parliament when the final budget should have been presented by Meles along with the prime minister’s address to Parliament. Secondly, he did not show up for the African Union meeting held today (7/13/12) in Addis Ababa, but no one in charge is talking about it.
Why the secrecy? Is it because the “system of power” Meles has advanced was on a downward spiral already; however, if he dies now, his death may also signal the “political death” of the TPLF/EPRDF. No wonder his health condition is being hidden from the public. TPLF/ERPDF leaders need time and are ill-prepared to enter into such an urgent political struggle for power that may cost them dearly if they do not cling to it. We already hear of the rise in power of Azeb Mesfin and the animosity she is creating towards herself and among others who resent her power. These are TPLF loyalists like Bereket Simon, the generals who are with Meles and those opposing him, or Arkebe Equbay’s group, who are ready to usurp power and to try to keep the status quo—especially for the sake of Tigrayans. Then there is the Hailemariam Dessalegn factor and the rise of the Southern Nations and the Oromos let alone the Amharas, the Ogadeni, the Afar and others.
They also may be forced to taste the poisonous fruit of the ethnic-based venom they have so successfully spread over the past twenty plus years, which has alienated the people of Tigray from the rest of the Ethiopians. At the same time, the “Anti-TPLF campaign, set in motion by some in the Diaspora, whether we like it or not, has furthered that hostility.
Whether Meles leaves office for health reasons, death or through voluntary or forced retirement, we in the SMNE believe we should be preparing for a “post-Meles” Ethiopia. We Ethiopians would be in a better position if our ideas for “our shared tomorrow” were more compatible with each other; however, they not only differ, but in some cases, strongly compete with each other. Could his departure bring some better but unanticipated alternative, the less-taken path, which would otherwise be closed off? Let us look at the present situation.
If Ethiopia is to emerge from a “post-Meles era” with enough strength to meet the challenges of the future, the people of Ethiopia must seek reconciliation, genuine justice and a “changed mindset” that will shape the agenda. If Ethiopians, including the TPLF/EPRDF, refuse to give up our present “us versus them” mentality or our tribal-based, “winner take all” culture, we will set into motion a destiny more similar to Rwanda, Kosovo or Syria.
Our future as a Country is fragile, like a large clay pot filled with water that many of us want to quench our thirst.
It is being fought over by many desperate families who could all have a drink if they so decided not to fight over who should carry it. Instead, as many hands try to snatch it away from others to gain control of the water, the clay pot falls to the ground and shatters; the precious water spilling out all over the ground. No one gets a drink.
What kind of future do we want and what kind of choices will lead to it? Will we choose revenge or justice? Will we choose tribalism or feudalism or the affirmation of the dignity and worth of all Ethiopians? Will we choose hatred or reconciliation? Will we choose truth or deception; accountability or corruption; decency or exploitation; civility or ignorance? The people of Ethiopia can stubbornly choose to continue an evil, greed-based and immoral system that will perpetuate our present condition or choose a new future to a New Ethiopia by taking a different path—one that is God-honoring, life-affirming, justice-seeking and peace-building.
Without reconciliation between Ethiopians, we will “break the clay pot.” Reconciliation is the only way out of this crisis, but will the TPLF and other Tigrayans see this? If they can see it, are they willing to do it? If they did, would other groups be willing to accept them or would these opposing groups want to defeat them as “the enemy” regardless of the costs? Is it more about defeating the enemy or is it about “transforming the enemy”—whoever it is—for the betterment of everyone. We must strategically think rather than emotionally react. We all have a lot to lose if we do it in the wrong way.
Many Ethiopians believe they have already lost almost everything to the TPLF/EPRDF so that they have nothing more to lose. This is a dangerous position to be up against unless all sides are willing to make concessions, especially those who have held control and received countless benefits from their position. Those holding the power also have the most to lose if they attempt to continue to hold on to everything. It is foolish for them to count on the continuation of the TPLF/EPRDF because the longevity of this is as precarious as the health of their leader (Meles).
Even though the TPLF/ERPDF will say Meles is only one person, not the whole party, the truth is that when he leaves, it will never again be the same. Once Meles is out, the inevitable struggle for power will ensue for it is highly doubtful that the TPLF/ERPDF will agree on a successor. Even now we hear that the struggle has begun.
At the same time, many in the opposition will fight for the power in order to secure a better life for themselves and their own group, but not necessarily for others or for the country. Within every major group are divisions and struggles, some for individual or group power and dominance and some for noble reasons. How can Ethiopians succeed as a people in this atmosphere?
Ethiopia is known as the birthplace of coffee. It does not matter which tribe one is from because the ritual of coffee drinking is celebrated throughout Ethiopia. There is someone to take care of the clay pot or (JEBENA) which brews the Ethiopian coffee. This person usually is someone others respect and trust to handle the pot with care; understanding its fragility. As the coffee is prepared, the people sit by, respectfully waiting for the coffee to be served. When it is served, the people again wait patiently for their turn. No one is left out and no one demands to be served first or to get all of the coffee for him/herself. Everyone gets their coffee. That is part of the ritual.
Now consider the coffee pot as a symbol of Ethiopia. If you look at a map of Ethiopia below, you may see how it resembles a coffee pot with its top, Eritrea, already missing.
The handle is Gambella; the spout is the Somali /Ogaden region, the neck is Tigray and the container is Oromia, Afar, the Amhara region, Southern Nations and Benishangul-Gumuz. What will happen when people start to fight over it? If someone pulls on the handle, the neck, the spout or the container itself and it breaks into pieces, no one will benefit and they will all lose.
What we are facing is not about Meles, but about Ethiopia as a country which has enough resources and hard-working people for all its citizens to prosper. For the sake of the country, we must admit where we have done wrong and be willing to make the necessary changes. It will be difficult but not impossible. It will be a bitter pill but it will cure us.
Others must also be willing to accept these changes. There must be some compromise, like was done in South Africa, rather than a preoccupation with revenge and a determination to take everything away from the enemy or the rest of the people outside our own group. This kind of “vendetta-mindset,” shaped the TPLF following the Dergue and was played out against anyone of Amhara ethnicity. Now, the Tigrayans or EPRDF members are the target and the deadly game can start all over. Who will be next as many are thinking that it is their “turn to eat.” This cycle will not get us anywhere and must stop, but to stop it, the TPLF/EPRDF, as well as others, must be pro-active in bringing it to a halt. The TPLF/EPRDF needs to think about it. The opposition needs to think about it.
In Rwanda, in thirty days, 800,000 people were killed. Over 14,000 people have already been killed in Syria and the fighting there is still going on. The infrastructure of their country is destroyed. The same thing was done in Libya. How many years will it take to recover what they lost, let alone to move ahead? Things could get worse for all of us. An “us” and “them” approach is not the way out. We cannot focus on seeing others as the enemy and hope to bring about a New Ethiopia. TPLF leaders are in a position to do something to avert disaster; the opposition is too.
Reconciliation is the only way out but it is not a “free ride” for some must be humble enough to stand up to admit the truth and to be bold enough to choose change. From what we hear, people within the TPLF/EPRDF are panicking and trying to calculate their next move, but they and we are all caught in a trap. Like in the case of apartheid, someone—a leader or a group– must stop pretending that the Tigrayan region or many of the people, perhaps not all, have not benefited from the blatant, ethnic-based favoritism of the TPLF/EPRDF. The truth must be told. What has gone on is wrong, unjust and immoral. Some Tigrayans did not ask for this and had little choice in the matter. We understand this.
Some Tigrayans may already be ashamed of this and be ready to come out and say it. Be the first to do so. Come out and say loudly, “NOT IN MY ETHNIC NAME!” It will never be too late to say this. Some may already have stood up for what is true, right, just and fair and suffered for it at the hands this regime. Some Tigrayans, TPLF and EPRDF members may be disillusioned with the TPLF/ERPDF and be ready to leave it for good. Others never believed in it but joined to get a job or an education. Some will be ready to use the well-known excuse, “I was ordered to be part of the TPLF/ERPDF.” However, the commitment of most to the TPLF/EPRDF may be extremely shallow, except for some in top leadership who have the most to lose; yet, even they may be ready to stand up against it.
Now is the time for the truth to start coming out, no matter how painful it is; however, it must be genuine. Fake humility, fake apologies or fake talk of reconciliation that is opportunistic will never get us anywhere for hatred, deception and raw self-interest will remain in their hearts. Instead, we need a different kind of revolution.
The revolution that must start should begin in the heart, soul and mind of every person. Unlike the cry from the past to start a revolution from the grave of our enemy, our revolution must put to death a intergenerational system and mindset that has brought so many tears, so much blood and countless graves. This kind of thinking will never bring about a New Ethiopia. The vitriolic hatred and anger between the people of Ethiopia has gone on too long; with different groups claiming entitlements or grievances that have gone unresolved for decades or longer. The destructive politics that exclude “other” Ethiopians as “less worthy” or “less Ethiopian” or as “the enemy” should be buried for good. Some are so angry over years of injustices that they do not want to even hear the word “Ethiopia” or see the flag of Ethiopia or speak the national language of Ethiopia. The TPLF has spread this hatred but others have carried it on. Now everyone is alienated. Ethiopia may never have been colonized but has become tribally colonized because the worst aspects of tribalism have infected us.
Ethiopia is one of the few countries in the world where the constitution begins “we the tribes” rather than “we the people.” We are alienated within our “tribes” as well. This is fomented by some radicals at home, but especially in the Diaspora, and has created even more animosity. It has created a “Tigray versus us” dilemma that must be resolved if we are to build a New Ethiopia. This deadly poison must be detoxified, filtered out or drained from our system of self-destruction; or, like the analogy of the bumblebee at the beginning of this article, who kept trying the same useless ways to free itself, we also will fail to look up and see the way out.
Right now, everyone wants power and to be the next Meles and some opportunists will pick up on the language of reconciliation, without genuineness, as a shortcut to advancing themselves or their groups, but we the people should not allow a hijack before we ever have a chance to build a New Ethiopia based on putting humanity before ethnicity and where our system supports the freedom and rights of all our people, not just a few.
The exit strategy from failed, revolutionary, ethnic-based cycles of tyranny is reconciliation and the restoration of justice for all. For you bystanders, of all backgrounds—including Tigrayan, who have discarded “ethnic-liberation” for human or national liberation, your time has come. Your country needs you. For those of you who believe in reconciliation and the restoration of justice; it is now your time. This is what you have been waiting for; history does not have to be repeated. You have a message of life! We need to hear you!
Now, with the tension between the TPLF/EPRDF regime and a coalition of Muslims and Christians, the latter who have come out with a joint statement that they will be protesting together for religious freedom, starting this weekend and going into next week, has frightened the TPLF/EPRDF. It led the regime to warn the people to not come out on national television. Their warning has been ignored and a clash between the Muslims and the security forces has broken out today (7/13/12), leaving 4 protestors’ dead, 16 wounded and many more arrested.
There is a way out for you and for us but let us make sure it satisfies our thirst for justice and our hunger for what is right and good. Beware of the opportunists coming from all directions who would want to be the next TPLF/EPRDF; exploiting this window of opportunity for their own self-interests. The people of Ethiopia deserve more than a government that is simply somewhat better than the TPLF/EPRDF. Ethiopians seek a government of the people, for the people and by the people which will uphold the value and rights of all its citizens.
We in the SMNE urge Ethiopians to choose a new path to a New Ethiopia; one which will lead us away from imminent destruction and towards a more united, cooperative and prosperous Ethiopia.
In conclusion, we in the SMNE are ready to contribute our share and are also available to facilitate in any way we can.
May God’s hand of judgment be heavy on us as individuals and collectively as a society until our guilt turns us toward what is right, what is true and what is good. Only then will we be freed! May God fill each and every Ethiopian heart, soul and mind with love, forgiveness and a ready spirit to admit and correct wrong towards each other so that we become a blessing not only to the living of today but to those in generations to come.
May the name of our Almighty God, who calls us to choose the way of truth, love, justice and compassion, guide us on this previously untaken road to a New Ethiopia! ============================== ==============================
Please do not hesitate to e-mail your comments to Mr. Obang Metho, Executive Director of the SMNE at: [email protected]. You can find more about us through our website at: www.solidaritymovement.org
by Teddy Fikre dated: Sunday, July 15th, 2012
“If a man still prophesies, his parents, father and mother, shall say to him, “You shall not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord.” When he prophesies, his parents, father and mother, shall thrust him through.”
“The LORD is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and wrath. He takes revenge on all who oppose him and furiously destroys his enemies! The LORD is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet.”
“So now the LORD says: “Be patient; the time is coming soon when I will stand up and accuse these evil nations. For it is my decision to gather together the kingdoms of the earth and pour out my fiercest anger and fury on them. All the earth will be devoured by the fire of my jealousy.”
“I will sweep away everything in all your land,” says the LORD. “I will sweep away both people and animals alike. Even the birds of the air and the fish in the sea will die. I will reduce the wicked to heaps of rubble, along with the rest of humanity,” says the LORD. “I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist and destroy every last trace of their Baal worship.”
“God murders Onan for refusing to commit incest with his sister in law.”
“You Ethiopians will also be slaughtered by my sword,” says the LORD
Oh my God. How evil this religion of Islam is. This Allah they pray too, what kind of people pray to a God that is so wicked, so “jealous” and so full of hatred? What kind of people worship a God that would lay waste to a people and refuses to forgive people who do evil things? What kind of religion espouses Ethiopians being slaughtered by his sword? What kind of God would kill a man for refusing to have sex with his sister!
You know what, I change my mind, George W. Bush was right after all, the Republicans had it right that Islam is a nefarious cult, and Meles Zenawi and TPLF agents are justified in wiping out Muslims in Ethiopia. If this is the essence of Islam and these words are what children are taught in the name of religion, we should immediately do all that we can to eradicate Islam from Ethiopia and every ..CONTINUED…
AUTHOR
Teddy Fikre
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email: [email protected]
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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (Associated Press) — Ethiopia’s longtime ruler and most powerful figure, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, is not attending an African Union summit that opened Sunday in Ethiopia, which further fueled speculation that he might be seriously ill.
About three dozen African heads of state and government gathered in Addis Ababa on Sunday, but Meles did not attend the meeting — a first since he assumed office in 1991.
Meles was expected to open the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) meeting on Saturday. But Senegalese President Macky Sall opened the gathering instead, telling participants that Meles was unable to be present due “to health conditions.” Sall wished Meles “good health.”
The most recent images of Meles aired by state-run Ethiopian Television showed him noticeably thinner. Opposition websites are claiming that Meles is being treated for a serious illness.
The government declined to comment on the matter.
Ethiopia’s parliament was set to hear from Meles last week when the country’s lawmakers were scheduled to approve Ethiopia’s current fiscal budget, which began July 8, but Meles did not address parliament.
Meles in 2010 promised to step down by 2015. Hailemariam Desalegn was named deputy prime minister. He is also the country’s foreign minister.